{"id":604,"date":"2013-02-22T16:20:50","date_gmt":"2013-02-22T16:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wsantosblog.com\/?p=604"},"modified":"2016-12-07T17:43:20","modified_gmt":"2016-12-07T17:43:20","slug":"sexualizing-clogged-pipes-really","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?p=604","title":{"rendered":"Sexualizing Clogged Pipes? Really?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sex Sells. We all know that. Marketers know that. Everyday, we\u2019re bombarded by sexual undertones and overt sexual imagery on TV commercials, billboards, print and online ads. This is not new. As a society, we are addicted to sex and sexuality. We consume porn like we consume food. Even with a plethora of free Internet porn, the industry is still a thriving multibillion-dollar industry. Why are we so obsessed with sex? <!--more-->Some would argue it\u2019s because of media\u2019s influence and their fixation with sex. While others would say media is merely reflecting the desires of society. I\u2019m not entirely sure if the chicken came before the egg in this instance, but what I do know is that sex is everywhere. And it\u2019s on my mind often. But I never imagined I\u2019d be reminded of a threesome while shopping for a liquid drain cleaner at the local Wal-Mart. It\u2019s not my fault the thought came into my mind. I wasn\u2019t even thinking about being engaged in the threesome myself, but of a woman and two male plumbers doing it dirty. More specifically, I was thinking about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BWAct9PZ2fA\" target=\"_blank\"><i>Liquid-Plumr Double Impact<\/i><\/a> commercial I had seen only weeks earlier. When I read the words \u201cDouble Impact\u201d on the label, my mind shot back to the sexualization of this otherwise asexual product and how dirty the commercial made me feel the first time I saw it.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t get me wrong. I\u2019m no prude. I love sex. But not when I\u2019m unclogging backed up pipes. Sex in marketing is very common for alcohol and tobacco companies, clothing and perfume lines, make-up brands and even deodorants (think <i>Axe<\/i>). But we don\u2019t usually expect that from <i>Liquid-Plumr<\/i> do we? We have certainly come a long way from the 1980s <em>Drano<\/em> ads that depicted a God-like voice that shook the house about, scaring women into using their products.<\/p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"604\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/I0hhbaGNjMM?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<p>The sexuality in this new ad starts within the first 5 seconds. A woman stands at a grocery aisle, reading the label on the <i>Liquid-Plumr<\/i> packaging and when she reads the words \u201cDouble Impact,\u201d she doubles back to read them again. Apparently, she believes double impact means double penetration, since we are lured into her promiscuous mind to experience her sexual desires of being with two men at the same time (the threesome fantasy).<\/p>\n<p>The first plumber, who by the way looks nothing like my cousin Gary that\u2019s been plumbing for over twenty years, rings her bell and says, \u201cI\u2019m here to snake your drain.\u201d Then another plumber, even more masculine than the first, shows up and tells her, \u201cI\u2019m here to flush your pipe\u201d (not pipes). The lust on her face is priceless when she squeals as if the party has already started. The men go straight upstairs where the bedrooms usually are while she closes the door and lets her hair down. \u00a0In the next shot, the two men tower over her on either side as she appears to push a long phallic object down toward her body, while one of the guys smiles and nods approvingly. That\u2019s when the 1970s style porn music intensifies and the deep, sexy voice of the <i>Barry White-like<\/i> narrator oozes his way onto the scene, telling us that <i>Liquid-Plumr<\/i> has a \u201clong snake\u201d that grabs \u201cdeep\u201d clogs and a \u201cpowerful gel to finish off the rest baby.\u201d While <i>Barry White<\/i> puts us in the mood, we cannot help but associate the otherwise mundane routine of unclogging pipes with the image of the two men, first penetrating the woman with a \u201clong snake,\u201d then releasing an orgasm in her pipes to \u201cfinish off the rest.\u201d The emphasis he puts on certain words, coupled with the imagery, leaves no room for any other interpretation.<\/p>\n<p>When the act is done, the music stops and we are abruptly brought back to reality where the woman snaps out of her fantasy, holding a bottle of the product. Miraculously, she sees the two men from her fantasy, who happen to be employees of the store, both glance over at her with flirtatious smiles. One of the men is handling meat. The other, in the fruit section, holds two large melons in his hand that resemble D-cups, and brings one melon to his face for a whiff; behind him we see stacks of the ever phallic cucumber. After that experience, how can she choose any other brand?<\/p>\n<p>She not only takes one, but two of the bottles home and clumsily speeds away, embarrassed by her sexual fantasy. By taking two bottles instead of one, it clearly symbolizes her bringing the two men home. It\u2019s also very curious that the two men from her daydream are actual employees of the store. That implies that she must have already seen them before she even got to the <i>Liquid-Plumr<\/i>, because too often, in our dreams, the people in them are those we either know or have come in contact with. She was already sexually attracted to the two men prior to her encounter with the words \u201cDouble Impact,\u201d and when she put two and two together, she came up with three.<\/p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"604\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BWAct9PZ2fA?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<p>Quite often, ads represent the male as aggressor and initiator of sex. In this case, it is the woman who is represented as promiscuous and loose. Her conservative motherly look appears in stark contrast to her sexual longings, and even though we are living in the era of post-women\u2019s sexual liberation, it seems risky for a wholesome brand like <i>Liquid-Plumr<\/i> to represent women as sexually aroused while shopping for groceries. Although her fantasy does not literally manifests itself into the actual act, the implications are all too obvious; she will go home with her two bottles and behind closed doors, she\u2019s free to further explore her sexual desires. Some might be troubled by the woman\u2019s fantasy itself. I\u2019m not. In 2013, the threesome has become quiet common. But to sexualize a drain cleaner, might be taking the concept that sex sells products a bit too far. A commercial like this is broadcast during primetime. Do we want our children to experience women having sex with two men while <i>Barry White<\/i> and his porn music play in the background? I don\u2019t think they\u2019re ready. And I\u2019m not excited by the thought of male-male-female threesomes when all I want is to unclog some pipes. Please. Not on a Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sex Sells. We all know that. Marketers know that. Everyday, we\u2019re bombarded by sexual undertones and overt sexual imagery on TV commercials, billboards, print and online ads. This is not new. As a society, we are addicted to sex and sexuality. We consume porn like we consume food. Even with a plethora of free Internet [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37404269,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[651],"tags":[2228,8055,28175,273,1094,110147,160949,374,7671963,33202,175,292,398,520,10254,620,563,142620,106,2213393,1857],"class_list":["post-604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-ads","tag-america","tag-awareness","tag-blog","tag-body","tag-critical-thinking","tag-drano","tag-ideas","tag-liquid-plumr","tag-lust","tag-marketing","tag-media","tag-politics","tag-sex","tag-sexuality","tag-society","tag-thoughts","tag-threesome","tag-truth","tag-wilson-santos","tag-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2z1Px-9K","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":637,"url":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?p=637","url_meta":{"origin":604,"position":0},"title":"My Love for you is Burnin (2010)","author":"Wilson Santos","date":"March 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"My love for you is burnin Like Paris is burnin New York burnin New hope burnin Flowers are burnin Life is burnin Existence burnin The moon, the sun, The universe, eternity, Moisture from dewdrops on Leaves of grass, Dust floating through space Everything is burnin, Music is burnin The dance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Poetry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Poetry","link":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?cat=422"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/c\/c1\/Streichholz.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":313,"url":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?p=313","url_meta":{"origin":604,"position":1},"title":"Baraka with a Movie Camera: From City Symphony to Global Symphony","author":"Wilson Santos","date":"August 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"*This essay was originally written for a Graduate writing class on December 14, 2010. http:\/\/youtu.be\/ZSfFHxyYJJA At first glance, it would appear that a comparison of Ron Fricke\u2019s Baraka and Dziga Vertov\u2019s Man With a Movie Camera is an unfair juxtaposition since the political and ideological messages of the two films\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Essays&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Essays","link":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?cat=786"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/ZSfFHxyYJJA\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":577,"url":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?p=577","url_meta":{"origin":604,"position":2},"title":"You Come Singing (2011)","author":"Wilson Santos","date":"February 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"As the tenderness of my once thriving heart drowns in an arid abyss of reason here you come singing \u2013 singing your songs of love songs of unbridled passion songs like the songs of my Muse songs soaring above sorrow stimulating surreal sensations swaying sweet serenades in my spirit awakening\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Poetry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Poetry","link":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?cat=422"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":107,"url":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?p=107","url_meta":{"origin":604,"position":3},"title":"Good vs. Evil According to Rousseau","author":"Wilson Santos","date":"July 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"*This essay was originally written for a Graduate course on Romanticism in Fall 2010. Are humans naturally born good or evil?\u00a0 This question rests at the heart of Jean-Jacques Rousseau\u2019s Discourse on the Origins of Inequality, in which he attempts to situate the earliest traces of human divisions that have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Essays&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Essays","link":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?cat=786"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":769,"url":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?p=769","url_meta":{"origin":604,"position":4},"title":"My Verse &#8211; a short experimental documentary","author":"Wilson Santos","date":"September 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/wsBmQIhHgfY?si=uHNAgGYZ4hViv8-N","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Film&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?cat=524"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/wsBmQIhHgfY\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":582,"url":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?p=582","url_meta":{"origin":604,"position":5},"title":"The Rich Aren&#8217;t Always the Smartest&#8230;","author":"Wilson Santos","date":"February 20, 2013","format":"image","excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Aphorisms&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Aphorisms","link":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/?cat=29324"},"img":{"alt_text":"wsantosblog.com_20","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wilsonsantos.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/wsantosblog-com_20.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/37404269"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=604"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":968,"href":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604\/revisions\/968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wilsonsantos.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}